The Ascendant Wizard

For the next hour, she spent her time meditating in order to restore all the mana she had lost and allow her mind to rest. Once she felt better, she finally stood up.

"Time to see what this can do. Prepare monitoring protocol."

[Acknowledged.]

[Monitoring Objective: Confirm activation, range, feedback clarity, mana consumption, and interpretation.]

Once the AI had confirmed, she moved towards the center of the room, closing her eyes, and tapped into the engraved spell. Unlike spells cast through temporary construction, engraved spells did not require the caster to rebuild the spell model every time they wished to use it.

Thanks to that little perk, all she had to do was pour her mana into it for the spell to activate.

"Sensory Pulse."

Though most Wizards didn’t need to say the name of a spell to activate it, many still did because it helped give the spell a clearer image in their mind; it aided their imagination and allowed the spell to work as intended.

When she activated the spell, she could feel a faint pulse of mana bursting outward from her body.

It was much fainter than she expected it to be, and for a moment, she felt almost nothing. Then something returned, like a thin, vague wave; it felt as if she were touching the area around her with several layers of cloth.

She could vaguely feel the area around her: the desk, chair, and even the bed in the room.

Beyond that, she could feel the walls and room around her like it was a dull, colorless world. The finer things were hard to pick up on; she could feel the booklet, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

After a while, she opened her eyes.

"Construct a map based on the information received."

[Feedback received.]

[Constructing room map.]

A rough outline formed in her mind using the spell’s feedback to fill in the details; it did not show color, texture, or finer patterns. But it showed the position of everything, their shapes, and even the distance between things.

It was very crude, but she could see how it could be useful.

"Let’s try this again."

She tried it once more; this time, she regulated how much mana she poured into it, allowing it to use more. And it did come out much cleaner than before.

Thanks to this, the AI was able to grab even more information from it and expand upon the existing map it had created.

[Map accuracy improved.]

[Estimated range: 7.6 meters.]

[Mana consumption: Moderate for current reserves.]

The range wasn’t all that impressive, but that was also because the spell itself was rather weak, and her mana reserves were low. As she improved, the spell would do so as well.

"Let’s try something different."

This time, instead of just sending a general pulse around her, she tried to focus the pulse towards the direction of the door, sending a burst of mana toward the door and slightly beyond it.

A servant passed through the hallway outside, the shape faint and blurred. The spell did not show a person clearly, but it showed their movement, distance, and a weak outline shifting past the door before fading.

"So it can bypass physical things as long as the pulse is concentrated?"

[Door material is thin; most likely, the condition for working is the mana flowing through it.]

"That makes sense, but it can still be useful for a lot of things."

She messed around with the spell a few more times. By the fourth time, she noticed the casting had slowed down, and by the fifth time, her head started to ache.

[Warning: Mana reserves low.]

At that point, she decided it would be best to stop.

She sat on the edge of the bed and reviewed the results.

The spell was weak; that was undeniable. Its range was poor, its detail was crude, and without the AI, most of what returned would probably feel like vague instinct. A normal apprentice might use it only to detect someone hiding nearby or to avoid walking into obvious danger.

But with the AI, she could make much more use of it than others.

The AI could compare pulses, build maps, identify changes, and slowly improve the interpretation each time she cast it.

After learning her first spell, she finally understood why Wizards held so much power, why they could wield forces normal people could not even begin to understand.

It was fun; it made one feel powerful. She felt as if she could bend the world to her will; of course, she knew she couldn’t. But that only made her desire more.

Her gaze shifted toward the door, and Verra’s task returned to her mind.

In essence, the task seemed simple; go to the lower third floor storage room and retrieve a sealed box from old teaching materials. She wasn’t supposed to open it or tell anyone about it.

But Morena knew better than to take any task in this place as simple; that was why she had delayed giving an answer, she wanted to see if perhaps she could find a better spell.

But she couldn’t; all it did was show her why she needed the spells Verra offered. At least now she had a spell she could use in the task.

While it still wouldn’t protect her from anything, and beyond that, it would not make the task safe. At least it meant she could use it to scan the room for any danger before she walked in.

By the time the next class ended, Morena had already made her decision.

She waited until the other apprentices began gathering their books and leaving the room. Some lingered in small groups, speaking about the lesson, but Morena ignored them. She packed her things, stood, and walked toward Verra’s desk.

The woman did not look surprised.

"Morena."

"Professor Verra."

Verra looked up from the papers on her desk, her eyes resting on Morena for a little longer than usual.

"Have you decided?"

Morena kept her expression calm.

"Yes."

The room had nearly emptied behind her. Only a few apprentices remained near the door, too far to hear clearly.

"I’ll do the task for you."

Verra looked as if she had expected her to accept, but there was still some relief in her expression. For a few seconds, she didn’t say much, but after a while, she smiled.

"That’s good."

Verra gathered the papers before her, placed them into a neat stack, and stood.

"Come after the next bell to my room. Don’t make me wait."

Morena inclined her head.

"Understood."

She said as her eyes followed the leaving lady.